Gridskipper, a blog for travelers and locals, has a great post about the finest fromageries in Paris. I was surprised to find one of them, Eric Lefèbvre, is literally around the corner from my apartment. I’ve shopped there many times but did not know of the pedigree.
This fourth generation master cheesemaker operates from an out of the way Parisian neighborhood and offers some superb regional cheeses which he selects personally during his visits to creameries and farms around France. His camemberts and stiltons are legendary.The Finest Fromage in Paris
This article spotlights other fromageries that are located outside of the city’s center. I smell a road-trip in the future. I need to grab my bike and go shopping.
I stopped by Taste cheese shop in San Diego yesterday to try some Southern California cheese. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of options for this region. However, they did have some Goudas by Winchester Cheese Company, located near Temecula. Gouda’s come from all over the world. However, Winchester has developed a truly Southern California experience. Their Jalapeno Gouda is a smooth cheese with a kick.
Our Boere Kaas (farm made) Jalapeno Gouda is a premium cheese aged a minimum of 60 days. The jalapeno and red peppers give it a moderately spicy taste. It is an excellent and flavorful accent for all occasions. This cheese won First Place at The American Cheese Society contest. Gold Medal Winner at L.A. County Fair. Winchester Cheese Company
Celebrate Oktoberfest with special cheese and beer pairings in San Diego. Taste (Fromagerie) and O’Briens (Pub) are working together for these classes. Here’s what they have to say:
Yesterday was the day we gathered to plan our pairings for our sixth round of beer and cheese pairings with O’Brien’s. Tom Nickel (owner of O’Brien’s), George and Mary were joined by tasting panel guests Sandy and Todd Webster, winners of the early-registration drawing. As always, it was a lot of fun - and a lot of work at the same time. In the end, we came away with an amazing menu of all-new pairings including an all-German flight, a truffle pairing and a sweet finale that will go down as one of our best ever. It’s one you definitely won’t want to miss! Space is filling fast so don’t delay, sign up today by sending an email or calling us at (619) 683-2306.
Wednesday, October 15th, 7pm at TASTE - 1243 1/2 University Ave (Hillcrest)
Sunday, October 19th, 6:30pm at O’Brien’s Pub - 4646 Convoy Street (Kearny Mesa)
$40
Add your events to Fromage Blog
If you have an event coming up, send an email to Ted@FromageBlog.com for listing in the web site.
I was at the Bastille Farmers Market this morning. I purchased some yogurt, comte, and fromage frais de chevre from a popular stand. Afterward, I noticed the light coming into their stand and took this photograph. You can practically taste the mimolette.
Mimolette is a magnificent cheese with apples. There’s nothing like a chunk of very old mimolette with a crisp, sweet apple. Most of the apples I’ve found in Paris are softer, baking apples. If you’d like a crisp apple ask for pomme à croquer.
Cheese Plus is a well-known fromagerie in San Francisco. They’re celebrating their shop’s third birthday
Here’s the announcement from Cheese Plus
To celebrate our 3rd anniversary we’ll be hosting our Summer Solstice Food Festival on Saturday, June 21st from 11AM - 6PM.
More than 2 dozen local Bay Area food artisans will be on site throughout the day sampling their unique and wonderful products.
Janet Fletcher (James Beard award winning food writer for SF Chronicle) will be in store from 12 - 2PM signing her latest book, Cheese & Wine, a guide to selecting, pairing, and enjoying; and our knife sharpening service will be on-site to sharpen your knives and instruct you in the sharper side of life.
Here’s a sneak peak of a few food artisans on site:
Paul Bertolli’s delicious sausages and salami from Fra’Mani
LaLoo’s Legendary Goat Milk Ice Cream
Bellwether Farms Farmstead Sheep Cheese
Allison McQuade’s authentic, tasty Chutney’s
Redwood Hill Sonoma Goat Cheese
Live Music, and much, much more!!
Festivities begin at 11AM and continue to 6PM.
Cheese Plus is located at 2001 Polk Avenue in San Francisco. Their phone number is (415) 921-2001.
This weekend, the entrance to Notre Dame in Paris smells a lot better. The annual Fête du Pain features fresh bread baking, classes for children, demonstrations, and a large display of French cheeses.
The festival will continue on Sunday. It’s geared for the younger bread lovers, so take the children with you.
Food festivals are always fun. You’ll find obscure dishes (garlic ice cream at the Garlic Festival), pseudo-celebrities (William Hung at the Artichoke Festival), beauty queens, and some really great food to eat and buy.
Rocamadour is a small town in France that features an annual Fête des Fromages in May. It’s the largest cheese fair in Southern France, with over 50 producers arriving to share their products.
This village has a cheese named after it, i.e. Cabécou de Rocamadour or more commonly known as “Rocamadour“. Since being awarded the AOC label in 1996, the producers have abandoned the name Cabécou as it’s too generic and hence today the cheese is just called “Rocamadour“. This also enables them to differentiate Rocamadour from the many Cabécou that exist. Rocamadour can be eaten at the various stages of maturation. When it’s between 1 and 2 weeks maturity it has a subtle acidic aroma and a slight nutty taste. As the “affinage” progresses, these characteristics mature and become more pronounced. Fête des Fromages - Rocamadour, France</cite>
Blue D’Auvergne is a milder blue cheese than its nearby cousins in Roquefort. It is creamy, smooth, and cooks/melts easily. It may not have the punch needed for a hearty blue cheese souffle or sauce, but it is great to eat in salads and by itself.
Bleu d’Auvergne is a name-protected (Appelation d’Origine Controlée, AOC) cheese from the Auvergne region in south-central France, where it has been made since the middle of the 19th century. Bleu d’Auvergne is made in the traditional manner from cow’s milk and features blue veining throughout. Its moist, sticky rind conceals a soft paste possessing a grassy, herbaceous, and (with age) spicy, pungent taste. Blue D’Auvergne Cheese - Artisanal Premium Cheese
Salad with Blue D’Auvergne tartine
Recently, i had this salad with tartine at a small brasserie in Paris. The beauty of this dish lies in its simplicity.
The salad consisted of greens, tomatoes, walnuts, and olives. A tartine was made with a slice of Poilâne bread, smothered with Blue D’Auvergne and placed under the broiler for a minute or so to melt the cheese. This was then cut into smaller pieces and placed on the salad.
The bite sized chunks of cheese and bread made the salad a great meal. Try this for dinner tonight.
This book will tease you with its complete coverage of French cheese. No matter where you are in France, you’ll never be able to find more than a small fraction of the selection. The author describes not only the mainstays of cheese culture but also the tiny fromageries who have made cheese for 400 years with a dozen sheep on the family farm.
I’ve often used the book to start conversations at the shops, pointing to the desired cheese and asking the clerks if they had the selection. One time, a distinguished lady came up behind me and in a very amused Parisian accent said “How cute, he’s got a cheese book.”
If you haven’t guessed, this book is less of a cook book and more of a tourist guide. You’ll enjoy the descriptions and easy to understand maps and symbols. This is a required book for any cheesies bookshelf.
